Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Wired AND Wireless Computer Issues...

I had a wireless computer that I sold because of massive interference with alarms, my headlight ect... So I bought a Cateye Wired model w/ "heavy duty" cable and it snapped apart last night. I'm thinking it had something to do with the cold but I've had it only 5 months. Just curious what you guys use? It appears they both have disadvantages.
Thanx

Cheap Specialized wired computer, 12,000+ miles, no problems.

Sigma BC 906, wired, lasted around 7,500 miles or so until the control head went through the washing machine (long story). Replaced it with a Sigma BC 1009, which is working well. After I dried the control head on the 906, it came back to life with only a couple of dots on LCD missing, but I had already replaced it. It's now a spare.

I used wired computers for along time going wireless only about a year ago. I forget what my first one was, but it was in the mid 80's and it was big by today's standards. Had a bunch of Cateyes over the years, beginning with the Solar (A Star Trek hand Phaser look-alike). Biggest issue for me has always been the hard to understand user guides. Cateye makes some very difficult user guides, IMO. I recently did a complete reset by accident on my Strada Wireless while just trying to adjust the clock for DST.

Biggest issue with the Strada for me has been the fact that the entire computer body acts as a button. I tend to accidentally reset my trip info by leaning on it without knowing. Did that the other day while I was fiddling around putting on my blinky lights. Fortunately, there is a miles2 function that I use as backup for when this happens.

would a wired device be less vulnerable to water damage? i have a cheap wireless and it got wet, and while it seems to turn on etc it never shows a speed, so i assume the sender is hosed. it was a $20 item at nashbar so i dont know if it is worth much trouble but is there a trouble shooting guide for that ? [it is a VDO c1]

For wireless, consider devices that use ANT+. This is a different radio frequency and digital communications protocol that is effectively immune to interference from lights and other devices, including other cyclists. It also has plenty of range for any bike mounted sensors mounted some distance from the computer.

I used an avocet wired for so long and I could still pull it out of the toolbox and have it work perfectly 10 years after the last time I used it.. Right now I would look at the topeaks, 2 models and easy to buy extra wired kits available

http://topeak.com/products/Computers?WYSESSID=a5nstv8vau464ohencu0j91j06

The only advantage to having a wireless computer is if you're switching handlebars, or don't have anyplace to wrap the wire. I've goat a Sigma wireless on my track bike for the second reason, and when I raced it was for the first reason, as I'd have to switch from drop bars to aero bars for pursuits, and all I had to do was unclip the computer and clip it back (while guys with wired computers had to fiddle with the wires.

But for the road, where I'm not switching handlebars, and where I've got the front brake cable to wrap the wire around, wired units are the best! They don't malfunction when you've got high-powered headlights next to them.

I have used Sigma wired computers for years. I had initially used Avocets, but they tend to be unreliable and prone to failure in the rain. I've never had a Sigma fail in the rain. Cateyes have this problem of easily resetting. I stopped using Cateyes when I inadvertently reset once too often. Sigmas require that you hold down a button for two or three seconds, and that only resets the current function. You have to hold it down another couple of seconds to reset everything. And after you change batteries, you can key in your own number in the odometer.

Up until 2003, Sigmas had a problem with recording rides longer than 10 hours (useful for randonneurs). When the stopwatch hit 10 hours, it would reset to zero, but so would everything else! So if you were doing a 300 km brevet (about a 12-hour ride) or longer, you'd have to write down the distance on the odometer at the start, and then subtract that from the final odo result to get actual distance ridden. From the 2006 models on (BC xx06), the clock just keeps ticking, but it no longer shows seconds after 10 hours. I used a 906 in Paris-Brest-Paris with no problems.

Luis

I think destroying a wired computer takes either abuse or really bad luck. I've been running one Cateye for over six years, and another one for 5.5. Aside from replacing batteries a few times, they've run with zero problems through heat, cold, dry, wet, and really, really wet.

The only advantage to having a wireless computer is if you're switching handlebars, or don't have anyplace to wrap the wire.
Perhaps that is the only real practical reason, but I do like the way the wireless makes a nice clean looking installation, and they are not much more than a wired computer now. I kept with wired until I was in need of a new computer and the wireless was on sale for a sweet price.

I seem to have a number of wired computer mounts and no matching computers for them. I might want to identify them and post them in the for trade forums.

I had used wireless computers for years but have been replacing them with wired lately. About 80% of my rides and 50% if mileage is from commuting, and wireless computers get faulty readings from interference from traffic signals and some of LED lights. Also wireless computers use two batteries rather than one and go through them at a much faster rate.

I think destroying a wired computer takes either abuse or really bad luck. I've been running one Cateye for over six years, and another one for 5.5. Aside from replacing batteries a few times, they've run with zero problems through heat, cold, dry, wet, and really, really wet.

I had really bad luck. First I had the Blackburn Delphi 5.0 which broke completely in one crash. Then I upgraded to the Blackburn Delphi 6.0 which survived for about a year. I got another Blackburn Delphi 6.0 because I liked it so much. The problem when I got it the second time was, that Blackburn had stopped making it and, I had to surf the Net to find an online bike parts place that still had them in stock. I will have to do the same thing again, when the present one goes. The only part of it that doesn't work right now is, the Cadence because the wire snapped. Other than that, it works great.

I have one of these on each bike. They work great.

$5.04 free shippimg
No cons.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/sunding-electronic-bicycle-computer-speedometer-24075

I have one of these on each bike. They work great.

$5.04 free shippimg
No cons.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/sunding-electronic-bicycle-computer-speedometer-24075
My first thought was "How cheaply can something be made?", then the design looked slightly familiar. It appears to be the same design as this Schwinn model that I've seen for about $20 at Wally-world:
http://www.amazon.com/PTI-Schwinn-12-Function-Computer/dp/B000068CJZ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1324911702&sr=8-2

I'm finding several listings on Amazon that look very similar as well.

Good find!

On my Hardrock I use a Specialized wired computer my Seek came with a CatEye Strada wireless computer. The only issues that I've had with the wireless is that as has been mentioned above I've accidentally reset the trip info. That and if I set it on my netbook that it'll receive interference and alter ALL of the data on it.

Fortunately I record all of the information at the end of the day in a spreadsheet. So that if I forget and set it down on my netbook I can just reset the odo. I'm not sure if it's the HD, the fact that the netbook is wireless or that I have a wireless keyboard and mouse that is causing the interference.

OP, ask Cateye about a replacement wire/harness/whatever you'd need. When you get the new stuff (I'll bet that they'll help without much trouble), see if you can install it better - no tension at any connection point, no pinching anywhere else. How did yours snap, anyway?